Health briefs

Thursday

Aug 27, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Depression and housinG

Depression and housinG

It's official: The economy is bad for your health.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine questioned 250 homeowners going through foreclosure in Philadelphia and found that 47 percent showed symptoms of depression, with 37 percent exhibiting signs of major depression. The rate was especially high considering previous research showed that only about 12.8 percent of people living in poverty were depressed, the study found.

"Although the health status of homeowners has traditionally tended to be better than that of renters, the financial and emotional stress of foreclosure may undermine the potential benefits of homeownership," said the study, which will appear in the October edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

The researchers found deep attachment to homes. "There is a sense of hope when people buy their homes," said Craig Evan Pollack, an internist who recently completed a fellowship at Penn's medical school and is now an associate scientist at Rand Corp. "The difference between those dreams and hopes and (the) reality that people are finding themselves in may be part of the stress that people are feeling, and a sense of sadness as well."

Corn and nutrition

There's hardly anything so sublime as a perfectly steamed ear of fresh summer corn. But how nutritious is the vegetable?

A medium ear, at about 100 calories, offers about 10 percent of the federally recommended daily value, or DV, of Vitamin C and folate. That ear of corn delivers about 12 percent of the DV for Vitamin B1, or thiamine, which helps your body convert carbs into energy and keeps your heart, muscles and nervous system working well. Thiamine is also thought to help maintain cognitive function and prevent memory loss.

In addition to the minerals phosphorus (for bone and tooth strength) and manganese (which helps your body use nutrients such as Vitamin C and thiamine), corn offers some Vitamin B5, or pantothenic acid, which may help mediate stress by supporting adrenal-gland function. Corn gets its yellow color from the phytochemical zeaxanthin, which promotes eye health, according to Kerry Neville, of the American Dietetic Association. And according to research at Cornell University published in 2002, cooking apparently boosts corn's antioxidant activity.